14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a Paris street where neighbors know one another’s business, a crime makes every small lie matter.
In The Little Old Man of Batignolles, Émile Gaboriau brings a mystery into a district of modest homes and small incomes. A quiet old man stands at its center. As a crime disturbs his street, police agent Méchinet must work out what happens among people whose ordinary lives offer no simple answers.
Méchinet relies on patience, close observation and careful questions. Around him, clerks, landladies, shopkeepers and neighbors gossip, guess and guard their reputations. Some have reasons to be careful with the truth. Here, the pull comes from small habits and hidden secrets rather than a chase, and everyday nineteenth-century Paris becomes part of the puzzle.
What you’ll discover
- An ordinary street unsettled Enter Batignolles, where modest homes and familiar neighbors form the setting for a troubling crime.
- A patient police agent Follow Méchinet as he builds his inquiry through close attention and careful questions.
- Small lies that matter Watch gossip and guarded reputations complicate the search for what really happens.
- Everyday Paris in view Meet clerks, landladies and shopkeepers whose daily lives give the mystery its texture.
- Detective fiction taking shape Explore a mystery by Gaboriau, a pioneer who helps establish the pattern of police fiction.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like clue-hunting detectives, Paris streets, gentle satire of money and pride, and love stories where the heart wins over a fortune.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mysterious neighbor opens another world
- The obvious answer leaves something unexplained
- A confession must fit the facts
- Small reactions can expose staged appearances
- Louise refuses to be bought
- Love meets the pressure of wealth
- Kindness changes with the visitor's wealth
- Ordinary lives conceal unexpected motives
- Notice what refuses to fit
Who’s who
- J.-B. Casimir GodeuilA young medical student with a camera-like memory who follows his neighbor into police work and tells the story as a memoir.
- Monsieur MéchinetA quiet Paris detective who hides his feelings behind a snuffbox and refuses to believe a case is closed too neatly.
- Caroline MéchinetThe detective's cheerful, shrewd wife, who listens to his cases and offers bold theories about who is really behind a crime.
- MonistrolA seller of imitation jewelry, accused of killing his rich uncle, who confesses at once and refuses to explain why.
- Madame MonistrolHis beautiful, elegant wife, who dresses for the part of the grieving woman and has an alibi ready for every question.
- Max de TressangA ruined young viscount who falls in love with a lace mender and must choose between her and a rich heiress.
- Louise BlainAn orphaned lace mender, poor and proud, who wants love but fears becoming a rich man's mistress.
- ClodomirMax's penniless writer friend, loyal and sharp-tongued, who defends Louise and helps both of them when they need it.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Little Old Man of Batignolles in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Little Old Man of Batignolles
by Émile Gaboriau · 1876
A student follows his quiet neighbor to a bloodstained room in Batignolles, where a name is written on the floor.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with easy classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“People must know!”
In short
What would you think of a quiet neighbor who carries a snuffbox, keeps odd hours, and comes home one night with his face cut open? A young medical student in Paris asks himself that question, and the answer takes him to a room in Batignolles where an old man lies dead and a name is written on the floor in blood.
The Little Old Man of Batignolles at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h2 h 20 min fast, 3 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 42,700 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1876by Émile Gaboriau
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stranger's manuscript brings a detective's memoir
One day a man of about forty, neatly dressed in black, leaves a handwritten manuscript at the offices of the Petit Journal. The pages sit untouched until a reader unties the string. He is hooked, and soon the whole staff agrees the paper must print it.
There is one problem. The pages carry no author's name, only a card reading J.-B. Casimir Godeuil, with no address. The editors put up mysterious posters, and for a week Paris wonders who he is. Before the paste is dry, Godeuil hurries in, and a deal is made to print his memoirs.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1876
- Language
- English
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Gaboriau, Émile. The Little Old Man of Batignolles. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-little-old-man-of-batignolles.
Gaboriau, É. (2026). The little old man of Batignolles. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-little-old-man-of-batignolles (Original work published 1876)
Gaboriau, Émile. The Little Old Man of Batignolles. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-little-old-man-of-batignolles.
@book{gaboriau2026little,
author = {Gaboriau, Émile},
title = {The Little Old Man of Batignolles},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-little-old-man-of-batignolles},
note = {First published 1876}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Little Old Man of Batignolles
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Little Old Man of Batignolles about?
It tells how a young medical student and his neighbor, a Paris police detective, investigate the murder of an old man in Batignolles. A name written in blood and a confession both seem to settle the case, but small clues point elsewhere.
Who is Monsieur Méchinet?
He is a Paris detective who lives across the landing from the narrator. He pretends to take snuff when moved, consults his clever wife, and prefers gathering facts quietly from shopkeepers to making speeches.
What else is in this collection besides the detective story?
It also holds Happiness Over Wealth, a love story between a viscount and a lace mender, Nessus's Cassock, set at a seminary, and three short tales: A Disappearance, A Cursed House, and She Lived Chastely.
The author
Émile Gaboriau
1832–1873 · French detective novelist
Émile Gaboriau (1832–1873) was a French writer born in Saujon, France. He later lived in Paris, where he died. He wrote novels and stories, including detective fiction featuring Monsieur Lecoq. The Lerouge Case appeared in 1866, followed by The Mystery of Orcival in 1867 and Monsieur Lecoq in 1868.
“People must know!”
More by Émile Gaboriau
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
